I was 10 minutes from standing next to the tree when it was
hit. I was across town when the huge flash and kA-boom of a lightning hit
too close to count (one thous... -- kA-boom). It rocked the store I was in.
"WoW that was close", I said to Annah.
She agreed, wide eyed.

On the way home I had to stop at our local neighborhood organic
food store to buy cream. I pulled into a parking place and noticed all these
people outside their houses looking up at a big Fir
tree.

I stepped out of my car and saw that the entire area was littered
with tree bark and across the street from where I was standing (about 50 feet
away and as many feet up) was the scar of a lightning hit spiraling down the
tree. I might be writing this from the other side if I had gone to get cream
10 minutes earlier.

The tree is still alive today, by the way (and so am I!).
I took a piece of bark home to Annah and asked her to build me an Elemental
from this piece of bark.